“We don’t need carbs, so why are you advocating for eating them?”
Good question.
I think asking whether we ‘need’ carbs or not is the wrong question.
As a nutritionist, I’m obviously aware of the human requirements for energy as well as the need for essential vitamins and minerals. However, to use the argument that we don’t need carbs to survive, so low-carb is the right diet to be on, isn’t helpful.
There is no one food that we ‘need’ to survive. There are individual nutrients that are considered essential, but we can obtain these from a wide variety of sources. Calcium can come from dairy products or from leafy greens. But you can live without dairy, and you can also live without leafy greens. The more important question is: do you want to?
As a nutritionist I may advise that someone increase their omega-3 intake. Whether they get that from fish, flaxseed, or a supplement is up to them. I give them options and ideas, but ultimately they make the decision.
How about let’s stop reducing food down to it’s specific nutrients and focus on the bigger picture:
We don’t eat carbs, we eat grains.
We don’t eat protein, we eat meat or eggs or beans.
We don’t eat omega-3, we eat fish or flaxseed.
This is an important distinction. We don’t eat nutrients, we eat foods, which contain a wide variety of nutrients. A food is never just about one single nutrient.
To say food is nutrients is incredibly reductionist. And misses one of the key points about eating: we have evolved to enjoy food, so that we are more likely to survive. Every time we eat it gives us a little dopamine hit. We are supposed to enjoy food.
Often the same people who shout “carbs aren’t essential” (and are usually saying eat low-carb) are the ones also saying ‘saturated fat is fine, don’t worry about it!’ Well guess what dipshits, saturated fats aren’t essential either. So, can we drop this stupid argument?
If you’re going through life focusing only on what nutrients you need, and ignoring what foods you want, why are you even bothering to eat food at all? Why not just have a meal-replacement pill or shake? Let’s be honest. Even the most zealot low-carbers or fitspo of fitspos doesn’t do that. Why? Because we enjoy eating food. So, can we stop this ridiculous narrative of “you don’t need x to survive”, because you can say that about literally any food. It’s a stupid argument. No one is eating their porridge thinking “I need these oats to survive”.
When it comes to nutrition, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there is no one way of eating that will suit everyone, and there is no single ‘right’ answer. Eating lower-carb may make one person feel energetic and amazing and not at all restricted, whereas it may make another feel run down and anxious.
To focus only on what macronutrient ratio and what micronutrients we need, and not to think at all about what we want is a miserable existence. If you like eating carbs then for the love of God please eat carbs. Eat them because you enjoy them. Since when did that no longer become a valid reason to eat something?!
Eating food is supposed to be a pleasurable experience; we eat food every day of our lives, so can we please enjoy ourselves?